Jesus is the Word of God
We begin in John 1...
Go back to Genesis 1...
and Genesis 3...
and Genesis 15...
and Genesis 22...
and Genesis 48...
And Exodus 1-3.
We hear about Christ as Present, Promised and Patterned in the Old Testament.
And we finish at the burning bush with the great I AM - the One who has always met us in our affliction.
Two people come to Jesus in their needs.
They are very different:
There's a named, powerful, rich, respected man who has had 12 years of joy with his daughter
There's an unnamed, unclean, impoverished woman who has had 12 years of suffering
Tragedy brings them down to the feet of Jesus.
But Jesus drives them down further before raising them up.
This is the way of the cross.
This is where Jesus is known.
We begin in John 1...
Go back to Genesis 1...
and Genesis 3...
and Genesis 15...
and Genesis 22...
and Genesis 48...
And Exodus 1-3.
We hear about Christ as Present, Promised and Patterned in the Old Testament.
And we finish at the burning bush with the great I AM - the One who has always met us in our affliction.
What does God's power look like? Acts 4:23-37 gives us four surprises:
We think God's power means an absence of suffering;
Actually it Embraces Easter.
We think God's power obviates the need for prayer;
Actually it Prompts Prayer.
We think God's power is all about miracles;
Actually it Makes Missionaries.
We think God's power is enjoyed privately;
Actually it Creates Community.
A sermon given in a baptism service.
Just as Paul speaks with parental love for the Thessalonians so we should all seek faith and love as the great signs of spiritual growth.
Two boys at work in a field. (Gal 4:1-3).
They look the same, but they couldn't be more different.
One is a slave, the other is a son. One is property, the other is heir. One calls the owner "Boss". The other calls him "Daddy."
But from a distance you can't tell.
In church, slaves and sons sit side by side. And, from a distance, you can't tell which is which. But actually there is a profound difference in their relationship to the Father - and this difference is decisive.
Paul writes Galatians 4:4-7 to sort out the slaves from the sons.
At the heart of this difference is the trinity. If we understand the trinity and our union with Christ, if we understand our adoption into the very life of God, then we'll be sons. If we miss this, we will live as slaves.
The trinity really is that important.
Older Text below...
Evangelism is far above our heads - in Christ. (Philippians 2:5-11)
Evangelism is far beneath our feet - in serving others. (Philippians 2:12-18)
It's not "in our hands" as though we can be self-possessed, polished communicators.
In this episode, among other things we respond to a listener question: What's the difference between preaching and evangelistic preaching?
A few thoughts... In evangelistic preaching you're especially concerned about the following:
In this podcast I talk about some examples of my evangelistic preaching.
Here's my sermon on Luke 14,
